Michael Freiberg has been on a mission to test his limits in 2019. And after clocking up more than 35,000km on the bike, Freiberg has certainly lived up to his goals.
The 29-year-old has just returned home to Perth from Europe where he competed in about 20 races over five months.
“I’ve done 35,000km this year,” Freiberg told emageogroup.com. “It’s a long way.
“It’s actually a 50 per cent increase from last year when I did 25,000km. It’s a massive jump. It’s about the same amount that the Tour de France guys do so it’s certainly pushing the limits.”
After winning his first Australian road title in January this year, Freiberg felt like he needed to back it up.
“Basically, I want to be a better bike rider,” Freiberg said. “When you have got the national champion’s jersey on your shoulders, I really had to prove that I deserved the jersey because no other Continental rider has ever worn it in recent history for Australia so it was a bit of a shock to everyone that someone from a lower-level team could go and win it.
“I wanted to really prove that I’m capable of being one of the top guys. That was just part of it, I think.
“That certainly showed in my results and my consistency through the year. I had about eight top-10 results, which is pretty consistent for an Australian going over to race in Belgium. I was really happy that I was able to stay consistent, week-in, week-out.”
Freiberg has wanted to spend a whole season in Europe ever since he returned to the sport in 2017 after a break to focus on developing his on-road resistance training wheel, AIRhub.
“Starting a business and working so hard through problem solving is not easy, so it gives perspective when you come back to the sport,” Freiberg said. “It makes training seem so much easier than if you don’t have those types of experiences, so I think it’s been a big advantage coming back and I’m a lot more mature and it’s so much easier this time around.”
Freiberg is having a rest at home before turning his attention to the national championships once more in January.
It’s been a big year in green and gold. Now time for some rest! ✌️🚀 pic.twitter.com/qyiwKaIscs
— Michael Freiberg (@MichaelFreiberg) October 6, 2019
He hopes to make his way onto a bigger team next year after stacking up more strong results.
Already an omnium world champion and a Commonwealth Games gold medallist, Freiberg still has plenty he wants to achieve in his career.
“I would like to go to a world championships,” Freiberg said. “I wouldn’t have qualified for this Olympics but the next Olympics cycle could be something.
“In regards to Tour de France, it’s just a matter of time. I know the preparation it takes to go well so I think if I just work hard and train with the same sort of ethos and dedication, those things are going to happen.
“You can’t work much harder than what we’re doing and getting the starts in those teams is just a matter of a bit of luck and timing so we’ll have to wait and see what happens.”